Elsewhere
by ladystarstruck
Summary: Frustrated and tired, the psychologist Kyra Madison makes a wish on the night of her 36th birtday. An unusual gift from a new patient makes it come true. As she and her best friend wake up in ME she learns about a long lost past existence. Elrond/ OC
1. Social Isolation

Disclaimer: The characters of Tolkien's world that appear in the following chapters don't belong to me.

A/N: To be honest I can't remember when I started writing this story. Maybe two years ago…? I'm not sure. When I heard the story of Elrond and Celebrian for the first time, I was touched. It was so sad and it was a shame it had to end the way it did. So I decided that it would be nice if they had a second chance before Elrond sailed to Valinor. And also make an unhappy, disheartened woman from our world happy at the same time. Maybe I should warn you that I invented most parts of this story and there are almost no parallels to Tolkien's storyline. But I think that is included in the word "fanfiction" already, right?

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0. Social Isolation

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Social isolation.

Ever heard about that one? I bet you have.

It is used every day all over the world in all languages one can imagine. It is an ugly word but somehow it sounds interesting, so one can find many people using it in a way that would make every better psychologist want to either rip out their throats or to chain them to the wall of a dark cellar for, let's say, two days. If they would start talking about social isolation afterwards I would be the first one to listen to them patiently.

Life ain't always peachy but some people just love to fuss over the most trivial things. I know what I'm talking about - it was my job to listen to their problems and to help solving them. I was one of those unfortunate creatures they call "psychologist" - a dying breed if you ask me, for most people preferred visiting psychiatrist with all their lovely, colorful pills to take away any pain, a fast and for a short time very effective method but on the long run with severe consequences - and in fact, I liked my job, I really did. According to the few friends I had I liked my job a little too much.

They claimed I was so involved with my job that I forgot what it feels like to have a private life. Well, if they were to sit in one room with more or less hysteric, depressive, hyper or otherwise mentally ill persons the whole day I bet they would understand how difficult it was for me to have a decent private life. But maybe they were right. I was always there for my clients and if there was a case of emergency they could even call me at home and I would do anything in my power to help them.

I was so occupied with my job that it was almost impossible to make new friends or keep the old ones I had, let alone finding a boyfriend and that was what worried my best - and how I liked to call her my only - friend Laura the most. We were living together in a rather large apartment. Well, it was my apartment but one day when I came home from work I found her lying on my doorstep, fast asleep. Her face was covered with bruises as was her whole body as I found out later. It seemed like she and her husband got into a fight again, this time not only verbally but also physically. I offered her to live with me during the acrimonious divorce that was to come. It had been very ugly and I had been by her side all the time, supporting her the best I could. Living with Laura was exciting for she was in her mid-twenties and had a six year old daughter that kept her occupied most of the time. I'd always wanted to have children on my own but since I had difficulties in dealing with other people that weren't my clients, there was only a very slim chance of that ever happening to me.

Sure, I had a great job, my own practice with a good reputation and therefore enough money to lead a comfortable life. But sometimes I felt that there had to be more.

I knew only too well what it meant to be alone. That's why I hated people who ran around and kept talking about social isolation all the time just because their friends didn't call them twice a day but only once. I had been alone for a very long time, dedicating my life to the well-being of other people and often forgetting about what I wanted or needed. Like sleeping – I slept less than five hours every day – or eating meals regularly. I had always been a tall and rather slim person even though I didn't do any sports I never had problems with my weight, something Laura was very envious about. I couldn't understand her – she was a very beautiful woman, with long auburn hair and a well-curved body. She had an exciting private life with her daughter and a lot of men fighting for her attention. There weren't any males who would want to be with me, except for some of my clients but of course I never returned their affection.

Maybe I should learn to be happy with what I had. Maybe I should accept the fact that I would never have an own family. I knew it was impossible but still I couldn't keep myself from thinking about it sometimes. A few years ago I didn't have this problem but come to think of it I was younger back then.

Now that I was growing older and Laura was around all the time I would often catch myself doing something I never thought I was capable of – thinking about the infamous phrase „what if".

What if my life would have been different? What if I had concentrated more on my love life? Would I have been in Laura's position? With a sweet daughter and an abusive ex-husband?

I hated thinking about this for I could never find a pleasing answer to my questions. Tomorrow would be my thirty sixth birthday, maybe that was the reason why I had all these confusing thoughts. It would be an ordinary day, I would go to work as usually, go through my appointments and when I returned home there would be a message on the answering machine – my mother's inevitable birthday call where she would fuss about how screwed up my life was – and Laura waiting for me to give me a present though I told her not to get me anything because she barely got any money from her ex-husband. Still, I would be happy, knowing that someone cared about me, thank her and carry my sorry ass into my bedroom. There I would go to my nightstand, take out the bottle of whiskey I kept hidden inside and get drunk, so I had an excuse to drown in my self-pity.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not addicted to alcohol in any way. I know a lot of people who are and believe me, the stories they tell would make any person in their right mind feel sick.

I've seen a lot of people standing on the brink of insanity, sometimes I felt like I might be losing it, too. But somehow I could always manage to comfort them even when I felt lost myself.

Maybe I didn't care about myself enough. I had no one who would listen to my problems voluntarily so I kept to myself. Sure, there was Laura but she had been one of my clients before she moved in with me. She had enough problems of her own – she shouldn't be concerned about me, too.

Some day I would break, that was something I knew for sure. But until that day I would do anything to make other people feel better.

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	2. The Burning Kitchen

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1. The Burning Kitchen/Mr. White Pt. I

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The next morning I woke up to the sound of glass breaking somewhere in the living room. Startled I opened my eyes and sat up straight in my bed. What the hell was happening? It was – I took a look at the alarm clock on my nightstand – 5.38am, twenty two minutes before I usually got up and certainly more than three hours before Laura would even consider opening her eyes. Maybe that was one of the reasons why she never got a decent job.

I yawned, wishing that I could lie down again and get some much deserved sleep. But even if I had a day off I would still wake up much too early.

Slowly I got out of bed, shivering a little when my bare feet touched the cold marble floor. The whole apartment looked rather old-fashioned, with marble or wooden floor and red, blue or golden tapestry. I even had a small fountain in the living room and a lot of plants everywhere. It was strange but I felt a special connection to these plants. Figures. I had a right to be eccentric, damn it!

Blinking a few times I opened the large oak doors, taking a step out of my sanctuary, wondering what the cause of the noise I heard was.

When I entered the small hall that served as a living room I noticed a strange smell coming from the kitchen. Now, that was odd. I was sure that I turned off every single electrical appliance before I went to my bed in the evening. Laura had a habit of forgetting to turn them off and I would find her asleep on the couch in front of the TV almost every night.

With growing concern I crossed the living room and opened the door that led to the small kitchen. At first I couldn't see anything. There was gray smoke everywhere and kitchen supplies were lying on the floor.

"Oh my God!" I screamed when I noticed Laura standing in the middle of that mess. She was staring helplessly at the stove with tears in her eyes. She seemed to be too shocked to react so I quickly took her hand to pull her out of the room.

"Are you nuts? What the hell were you doing in my kitchen?"

I was so confused that I forgot she was a very sensitive person. While I hurried into the living room in search for the telephone, cursing all the way, she started to cry. Finally I found it and at the same time I realized my mistake. I sighed inwardly and made my way to the kitchen door, where Laura was still standing; her body was shaking from her sobs as she cried even harder.

"I'm sorry, Kyra, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Before she could say anything else I embraced her shaking body gently, pulling her close to me while dialing the 911, hoping that at least the most important things of my kitchen survived Laura's latest cooking-attempt. She was a dear but sometimes she just tried too hard.

After I finished the call I took Laura to the comfortable black sofa in the living room and sat down beside her, still holding her arms but looking at her firmly.

"What happened to my kitchen, Laura? I thought we agreed that you would only use the microwave and never touch the stove again."

She didn't dare to look up at me, still crying silently.

"Are you... are you angry with me?"

Oh, how could I possibly be angry with her? I hated to see people cry. Even if she had set the whole building on fire I would not be able to be mad at her.

"No, my dear. I just want to know what happened," I replied while stroking her back gently.

"I... I wanted to surprise you. Today's your birthday and... I got up so early to prepare breakfast and I almost succeeded." She looked up at me with her large, blue eyes and I felt very sorry for her. Poor girl, she had been through so much already but somehow she always managed to get into situations like this. Bad luck, one could say.

"You always say you don't want me to buy you a present so I wanted to do something that wouldn't cost any money. You have done so much for me, I don't know how I could ever repay you."

My heart went out for the young woman who sat beside me. I smiled at her, and tried to comfort her.

"You've done a lot already. I love living with you and Katrina. You're my best friend, Laura."

She returned my smile hesitantly.

"Thank you. I love you." She hugged me again. Laura was a very emotional woman – that was one of the reasons why her life had been so hard.

"Love you, too. Now, why don't you get a blanket and wait for the fire-brigade? I will go to the bakery and get us something for breakfast. How did you manage to get up so early anyway?"

Her smile widened.

"As I said I wanted to surprise you. I've gone to bed early yesterday."

I laughed softly and shook my head at her enthusiasm.

"Alright. I'll be back soon!" I said, while quickly grabbing a sweater and pulling it over my dark silk pajama. I didn't care that I looked a little strange walking around like this. After all it was quarter to six in the morning; no one would be awake anyway.

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The rest of the morning was more comfortable.

After the fire-brigade left, Laura and I took a look at the kitchen... and I froze. Not only had the stove been destroyed completely, but also every cupboard, the fridge and the sink. I had liked my kitchen and it had taken a long time to decide for one when I'd bought it. I would have to cancel some appointments in the evening so we could go looking for a new one. Laura had started to cry again, and it took me some time – and three blueberry muffins – to appease her.

Finally I could get ready for work while Laura decided the stress had been too much for her and she would need some sleep to recover from the shock.

Whatever.

When I was standing in the living room once again – now fully dressed and ready to go – I took a look at the clock. As expected it was half past eight – I should have been at my practice at eight o'clock.

„Damn!"

I had to run down the stairs and when I wanted to take out the keys for my car I noticed I had left them upstairs.

Cursing under my breath I walked over to the next highway, deciding to take a cab and hoping that Laura would be at home in the afternoon and didn't forget we had an appointment at four o'clock.

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When I finally arrived at my practice, I was sure that there was nothing that could go wrong anymore today. As expected there had been a traffic jam on the highway – it was rush-hour after all – and the cab had to crawl through the mess. Literally.

I was pissed beyond belief, something that didn't happen very often. Usually I was a peaceful and calm person, not overly emotional but friendly and my clients liked this attitude, so I kept it. But today had to be one of the worst days of my life. Everything just seemed to go wrong and I hoped things would not get any worse.

So I endured the overly friendly greeting of my secretary, her congratulations and even forced a small smile to appear on my face, I'll never know whether she saw it was false or not.

I sighed as I finally opened the door to my office and sat down on one of the comfortable armchairs that stood in one corner of the room. I strongly disliked the clichéd couches most people thought of as soon as they heard the word "psychologist" – which was bullshit, by the way, because the traditional couches were a trademark of psychoanalysts and I had left that field about eight years ago - so I banished everything that would stress people who held prejudices against me or my colleagues from my office. Instead I put up a very comfortable blue couch and two armchairs. My clients could decide on their own where they wanted to sit. Sometimes I would even choose to sit beside them on the sofa, but only if they were comfortable with it.

There were a lot of plants in the room, mostly evergreen plants but also some orchids. Laura always said how much she loved the orchids I kept at home so I decided to bring some to work as well.

The wallpapers were in a soft shade of violet while the carpet was dark blue. There were two large windows that supplied light for the room and several small shelves where I kept books and other documents, as well as a small desk with a notebook on top of it.

Suddenly someone knocked at the door.

"Come in!" I called, hoping it would not be one of my fellow colleagues who remembered my birthday for I was not sure how much of this I could take today.

My secretary appeared at the threshold, smiling friendly.

"Your first client has arrived, Kyra. Should I let him come in?"

I nodded tiredly.

"Yes, please. Who is it?"

She looked down at her notes.

"His name is Gandalf White. I've never heard this name before; he might be a new client."

Well, that confused me. I already had too many clients, why would anyone want to send another man to me? There were enough other psychologists around; I shared this practice with two other psychologists after all. But I decided to think about this later and waited for the new client to bug me. I preferred working with people I knew, most of my clients came to me upon the recommendation of their doctors, so I had a general idea what was wrong with them, though I would never dare to judge upon their impressions. The human mind was far too complex and this would be the wrong approach to people.

The door cracked open. I straightened my back and put a pleasant smile upon my face. Not too enthusiastic, but calming and reassuring.

"Good morning, Mister..."

The words got stuck inside my throat. I've been practicing my job for more than ten years now and dealt with all kind of people one can imagine. But when I saw this old – and I mean very old – man walking into my office I had a hard time keeping my composure. I don't know what confused me more – the fact that he was still alive, for he looked like he was ninety years or older or that he was walking into my office with a soft smile on his face, like he'd been here before.

A strange feeling started to grow in the pit of my stomach. It felt like some part of my mind seemed to recognize him but I was sure I had never met him before.

Oh, I would remember him, for he was an imposing figure, that was for sure. He had a long, snowy white beard and even longer hair of the same color. But even though he looked like the old man he was, his eyes were sparkling with youth and his movements were more graceful than mine could ever be.

He approached me slowly and without the hesitation that most of my clients showed on their first visit, he sat down on the sofa across from me, looking at me expectantly.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, blinked a few times before concentrating on the mysterious man once again.

"Good morning, Mr. White. I must admit, I'm surprised. No one told me I had a new client attending today."

I smiled politely, hoping he would forgive me for I was sure I had been starring at him. The old man just chuckled softly.

"I shall forgive you. It was a spontaneous decision to visit you, Kyra. That is your name now, isn't it?"

I frowned.

"Well, yes. How did you know?"

Usually I wouldn't tell people my first name – I wasn't very proud of my name for my mom used to tell me she named me after her favorite dog who died the same day I was born – and I had no client or ex-client beside Laura offered to call me by my first name so far. To me that was the thin line that separated my almost non-existent private life from my job. He didn't seem to care as he chuckled again.

"It's written on the calling card. You don't mind me calling you Kyra, do you?"

How could I possibly say no now? It would be impolite to deny his request. Somehow I held a deep respect for this man I couldn't explain. I felt small and unimportant compared to him and I wasn't used to deal with old persons. But I couldn't let him know how much he intimidated me so I forced a smile on my face.

"No, I don't think so, Mr. White."

He shook his hand and chuckled again. I swear this sound was scary!

"Please, call me Gandalf. I feel so old when you call me Mr. White."

Was that a joke?

I laughed softly, just to be sure. He seemed to be pleased and relaxed a little more. Which meant he put his feet on the glass table that was placed in front of the sofa.

I stared at him with disbelief, my smile cracking. No one had ever dared to put his or her feet on this table! It had been a present from one of my ex-boyfriends and had been rather expensive. Or so I had been told.

"Now, Kyra... How are you feeling today?"

His question took me by surprise. I was speechless once again. No one had asked me this question in a very long time; usually I would be the one to ask it at the beginning of every conversation with my clients.

"I'm fine, Gandalf. How about you?"

"I cannot complain. But today's your birthday, isn't it? I want to give you a present."

I coughed to conceal my shock. Alright, this was getting a little too scary for my liking. How did he know about my birthday? I was certain that it was not written on my calling card. These were confidential information only those who were close to me knew.

"Excuse me?"

He chuckled again. I suppressed the urge to get up and run away, leaving my office and this scary old man with his unnerving laughter behind. It was only then that I realized he was wearing some kind of white robe I had never seen before. It reached down to his feet and a large hood covered his head. The stick he carried with him had an unusual shape that didn't look like a stick old people carried with them to help them walking straight. Something just wasn't right, I could feel it. Pushing the strange feeling aside, I noticed that he took out a small package wrapped in crimson fabric and handed it over to me.

"What is this?"

He looked at me like I had just asked a stupid, unnecessary question.

"Your present, my dear."

'Dear?!' my mind screamed but I ignored it.

"I cannot accept this."

I shook my head violently. This was not happening. This was so not happening!

"Oh, but you have to. It would mean very much to me and everyone else involved."

Alright, now I knew what was happening. I was losing it! Hey, I never expected this day would come so soon but I was definitely losing it. There was no other reasonable explanation. Numbly I took the present in my hand, hoping this wasn't some sick joke. For all I knew, there could be a dead animal or something equally disgusting inside. Yeah, blood would match the color of the cloth very well.

Suppressing the shiver that threatened to run down my spine I unwrapped the present. My hands were trembling a little and again I prayed he didn't notice my distress, though somehow I was sure he did. This man held very much power, maybe not physically but his presence seemed to fill the whole room. I've never experienced something like this before.

When I finally managed to open the present, I was shocked once again. This was certainly not the corpse of some animal, and though I knew I should be relieved by this fact, I wasn't.

It was a golden ring with a crimson gem in the middle. It looked rather old and even though I didn't know much about jewelry I couldn't even guess its value. There were words engraved all around it, letters of an ancient language I've never seen before but it felt strangely familiar.

"What is meant to be will always find a way to be..."

I barely recognized my own voice as I said these words. An overwhelming feeling of sadness, of acknowledgement... I've seen this ring before, _I've possessed it before_.

As odd as it may sound, the ancient language made sense to me. Since I've never been into history much – and only had shown vague interests in runes, it had nothing to do with my job so I didn't care – I had no explanation for this.

"So you remember the ring..."

I backed away from the old man a little, dropping the ring as if it just burnt me.

"No. I've... I've never seen it before."

That was a plain lie. I remembered the engraved words, I recognized the ancient language but I just couldn't place it. The ring was magnificent. It reminded me of something... someone...

"_We will never be apart. This I promise..."_

Images flashed through my mind, a person I've never seen before only in my dreams... It was the blurred image of me and someone else sitting somewhere... The ring again...

No.

I shook my head violently, trying to calm down a little, before looking up at the old man again.

"Listen, Mr. White. I don't know why you gave this ring to me for we have not met before. You came here because I should help you with certain problems." I took a look at my watch. It was half past ten. Wow, I never realized this appointment took so long already. I must have been out quite some time starring at either the man or the ring.

"Well, we have to end our session for today. Please take the present with you, for I can't possibly accept it and go to my secretary to make a new appointment if needed."

It was not my habit to dismiss clients like this but I really needed some time off. Gandalf White just smiled again, bent down to pick up the ring before taking my right hand into his. I had to fight the urge to flinch.

"I will not take this ring with me again, please keep it. It's a present after all."

Pushing the ring in my open hand, he gently closed my fingers around it, before standing up again and walking over to the door.

"Have a nice day, Kyra, and enjoy your birthday. Maybe your wish will come true."

With that he left my office, leaving me shell-shocked and utterly confused.

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A/N: Maybe if some people out there are interested in psychology they could guess what kind of psychologist Kyra is. There are some very obvious hints in this chapter.


	3. An Unexpected Gift

A/N: Here we go! Welcome to the second chapter of "Elsewhere." The power of a single wish will change the life of two women completely. Although spoken in drunken stupor it still holds enough power to transcend space and time. But that doesn't mean everything will be alright from the start, right? .

Thank you, Rithralinde and escape5, for the reviews! Although I didn't really understand yours, escape5… Still I hope you'll enjoy reading the second chapter.

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Chapter Two

An Unexpected Gift

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As expected I wasn't able to concentrate on my next clients.

The strange old man was still on my mind along with all the other things that happened today. Was I really going insane? Was I seeing things that did not exist?

But the encounter with Gandalf White had definitely been real. As was the ring I was still clutching in my right hand. It felt warm and solid, there was no doubt it was there.

I was glad that I had only four other clients to tend to after Mr. White left. At least I could manage to keep up my usual behavior and no one noticed my distress.

All I wanted to do was leaving the office and go home, buy the new kitchen, lock myself in the bedroom to get drunk. I didn't want to think about all this right now, I would do it later. Sighing softly I leaned back in the chair, closing my eyes. It was half past twelve now, time for a small break. My next client would arrive in about twenty minutes so I had enough time to relax a little, to clear my mind from all the things that had occurred during the last sessions.

Needless to say that it didn't help today.

I felt tired, drained. I no longer felt the energy that usually helped me surviving my dull, monotonous life, to dedicate it to my clients. But lately a rather unwanted question started to repeat itself inside my head, driving me insane every time I thought about it.

_What abut me?_

A knock on the door interrupted my train of thoughts.

"Come in!" I called, silently thanking whoever would enter my office now. It was my secretary. She held a cup in her hand, smiling as she approached me.

"You seemed to be upset this morning. Maybe a cup of tea will help to relief some of your stress."

Smiling gratefully at her, I took the cup in my hands, smelling the faint aroma of vanilla and raspberries. She was a dear, how could I think she didn't notice my bad mood?

"Thank you, Leanna. I really appreciate that."

She just smiled and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I leaned into the touch, suddenly realizing how much I missed physical contact to other humans. Except for some hugs to comfort Laura when she was in her hysteric mood or occasional handshakes from other clients I haven't felt someone touching me voluntarily for a long time. I think up to now I never noticed I missed it at all.

My last relationship – if one can call it a relationship given the fact that it only lasted for three months and Matthew and I only saw each other once a week – ended four years ago. That was when I decided he wasn't worth the emotional stress I had to endure every time I fell for someone. I've been disappointed by men a lot. My relationships somehow all ended up the same way – we would break up because he either found a woman who was younger and had more time for him or I ended the relationship when I noticed that my feelings were not strong enough to survive much longer.

"No problem. Just don't be so sad, that's so unlike you..."

_Oh, if you only knew what I'm really like._ But it was my fault for I never showed anyone.

"Yeah, you're right. It has been a tough day."

Leanna turned to leave. When she was standing in front of the door she turned around again, pointing at my right hand and smirked.

"I didn't know you had a new boyfriend lately. This ring is beautiful."

I frowned.

"What do you mean? I don't have..."

But when I looked down at my left hand it hit me. It seemed like I had put on the ring while analyzing my mental condition. She winked at me and disappeared before I could convince her that it wasn't a present from a lover.

On the other hand, what should I have told her? That the new client gave it to me and that I could read the engraving though I didn't remember learning this language? That I was going insane?

So I just shook my head while taking another sip from my hot tea. This was going to be a long day.

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After my last session was over I hurried out of the building, thanking whatever deity was in charge today that none of my fellow colleagues seemed to remember my birthday.

There was no chance I could have stayed calm while Chris Marshall, who used RET-techniques to help his clients, talked about my irrational beliefs and what I should do to change my life. He was always so enthusiastic and straightforward, it was scaring! Often he started yelling therapeutical phrases at me in the middle of a conversation.

My brain seemed to work a lot slower than usually up to the point where I stopped thinking at all. I did not want to think about the strange old man any longer. The ring felt cold on my finger but not uncomfortable. I had no idea why I had put it on or why I did not have the strength to put it off again.

It was so frustrating!

About half an hour passed until I finally found a cab. As I sat inside the smelly car I felt like crying which was just another thing that proved that my mental condition was rapidly getting worse. I was used to the feeling of being defeated – I had to deal with it every single day – but it never got to me like it did today.

Luckily there wasn't another traffic jam so I arrived at home in less than thirty minutes. I was sure Laura hadn't left the apartment, she was always quite confused after failing in something and it often took me a lot of time to convince her that her life wasn't that bad and things would get better the next day. When I rang the bell she answered immediately, like she had been waiting for my return.

Since the elevator was damaged I had to walk up to the fifth floor. I wondered how we would be getting our new kitchen upstairs after buying it. Laura was standing in the doorway, still looking confused and tired. I looked at her disapprovingly.

"You look like you just got out of bed," I stated. She bit her lip and averted her gaze.

"Well, I fell asleep after you left. You know I can't cope with such things as easily as you do."

I shook my head again, walking into the living room to sit down on one of the armchairs.

"Just get dressed so we can leave soon. I had a very tough day and just want to relax a little."

Hah, relaxing my ass! I knew I would not be able to rest no matter how hard I tried. But she didn't have to know. Laura passed me by as she went to the guest's room – or rather her room now – to get ready.

"Have you sent Katrina to school at least?"

Silence.

"Uh, yeah. She woke me up at nine o'clock, fully dressed and asked me if there was any breakfast left, for the kitchen was not there anymore. She's such an intelligent little girl."

I suppressed the urge to walk over to Laura and slap her. Hard. This woman was so irresponsible! She couldn't even take care of herself, much less her six-year old daughter. Of course Katrina was intelligent – otherwise she wouldn't stand a chance to survive with a mother like this. When they moved in with me Katrina was five years old and had never attended any nursery school. I took care of that by putting her into primary school. When I asked Laura what the hell she was thinking by neglecting her daughter she started to cry and told me not to be so mean to her. She was a good mother to the girl – since she didn't have a job she had a lot of time, always playing with her, or reading books aloud, watching TV and doing all the stuff a mother should do. Only when it came to the most banal things – like cooking dinner, washing clothes or waking her up in the morning – Laura lacked a certain sense of responsibility.

"I'm ready!"

I turned to my friend who was standing beside me now, dressed in a tight fitting light blue shirt and white trousers. Her gray eyes sparkled with excitement as she took my hand and lead me out of the room.

"Do you have the keys?" I asked her, not wanting to do the same mistake twice a day.

"Yes. And we have to pick up Katrina after shopping, she's at some friend's house in the neighborhood."

Maybe she was a little too excited. After all it was her fault that we had to go looking for a new kitchen at all.

"Alright. Let's get done with it", I said as we entered my car and drove to a nearby shopping center.

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Three hours later I had a hard time keeping my composure.

I should have expected it, really. When Laura said 'we'll go shopping' she didn't mean just looking for a new kitchen. After only half an hour we had decided on one – or Laura had decided since I didn't have much energy left – and she started dragging me from store to store, looking for new clothes, shoes, CDs until my head was spinning and my feet aching. When I finally had the heart to tell her we needed to go home and pick up Katrina, she gave in and we left the dreaded shopping center with about ten bags of various things. On the way home I didn't say a word. At some point my ever cheerful – soon to be dead – friend stopped talking and looked at me warily.

When we stopped at the house where we would pick up Katrina she spoke up again.

"You're still not feeling better, are you?"

I looked at her, confusion clearly written all over my face.

"What do you mean? I'm just tired, that's all."

She looked at me with downcast eyes.

"No. I know something's wrong with you. I've never seen you like this before. You're always energetic, calm but energetic. But you've been so... distant for some time now. I thought shopping would be a good idea. When I feel bad I always do it. But now you seem to be more upset than before."

I returned her inquiring gaze. I really had underestimated her. I felt tears threatening to fall so I quickly hugged her close to me.

"Thank you," I whispered, overwhelmed by my emotions. It felt so good to have her as a friend even when I was angry with her sometimes I still loved her a lot.

"We're friends. Best friends! I know when something's bothering you. You're always there to listen to me; I want to be there for you, too."

We remained silent for some minutes, just holding each other. I wanted to tell her what was wrong but I couldn't find the right words to do so.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. There are so many strange things happening that I cannot understand."

"Like the ring you wear on your finger."

I froze. I had forgotten about the ring when we were at the shopping center but Laura had to be stupid if she hadn't noticed it.

"It's beautiful. Who gave it to you?"

I shook my head violently. I didn't want to remember it. Her question made me sad though I couldn't possibly explain why. There were so many emotions whenever I looked at the ring. It wasn't just some piece of jewelry it was so much more... I just couldn't remember what it was.

"A client gave it to me today. I have never seen him before, I would have remembered... still I feel like some part of my mind seemed to recognize him. He told me a lot of strange stuff, he knew me so well... It scared me. He knew it was my birthday and gave this to me."

Suddenly I remembered something. Quickly I took the ring off of my finger and held it in one hand. Sadness overcame me, like I just suffered a great loss by taking it off.

"Take a look at it. Can you tell me what the engraving says?"

She loosened her grip and took the ring in her hand after switching on the light. Then she started turning it over, looking at the foreign writing.

"You know, I've never learned any other language than English. I do not recognize this writing, sorry."

I sighed. Maybe I should have known better.

"Neither do I. I'm sure I've never seen this language before but still I know what the engraving says."

Laura frowned.

"That sounds awkward."

"Yeah it does, doesn't it?"

I put the ring back on. Then I noticed her staring at me expectantly.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What does it say?"

Looking down on the ring again, I read out loud what was written on the outside.

"_What is meant to be will always find a way to be."_

"Oh, that sounds so romantic!" she squealed. "It must have been some very hot guy if he gave you a ring like this."

I chuckled slightly.

"No. He was at least ninety years old. And he almost forced me to take it for I didn't want to have it at first. But somehow... it feels right to wear it. Like I possessed it before, which is of course impossible. Whenever I touch it I feel memories rushing back to me of events I don't remember happening before."

I felt desperate by now. A tear rolled down my cheek.

"I'm losing it, right?"

Laura embraced me again and stroked my back gently.

"No, you're perfectly sane. You just need to sleep more and work less. I will make sure you will feel better soon, I promise." Her words were sincere and I wondered why she had never shown this side before.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for caring."

She kissed the top of my head gently before I loosened my grip.

"Now go inside and get Katrina. I'll be waiting for you."

"I know. You always do."

With that she opened the door and stepped outside to walk over to the house. I hoped she was right about me not losing anything for somehow I started to doubt that.

-----------------------------------------------

Later that evening I was sitting in my bedroom. I was glad to be alone for the rest of the night. Laura was sitting in the living room, watching TV with Katrina and I hoped she would tuck her in soon; otherwise the girl would have problems getting up in the morning.

I felt more exhausted than I have felt in a very long time. Sighing tiredly I turned on the stereo and soon my room was filled with comforting rock music. Ritchie Blackmore's killer guitar solos always helped to comfort me. I had loved his music since I was a teenage girl. I could still remember the very first concert I had gone to – it was in 1979 when I was eleven years old. Some of my older friends had dragged me along. At first I wasn't very enthusiastic about it but that soon changed after Ritchie Blackmore and the other guys of "Rainbow" entered the stage. From that moment on I was captivated by the unique guitar solos, the deep, husky voice of Ronnie James Dio and the general atmosphere the music created.

Taking a sip from the already half empty bottle of whiskey – I didn't bother using a glass for I knew I would empty it tonight – I leaned back on the armchair I was resting on when the first tunes of Rainbow's "Stargazer" started to play.

My vision became blurry and a giddy feeling rose inside of me. The alcohol was finally working its magic on me, making me forget about everything that happened today. Now it was just me, Ritchie Blackmore and the whiskey. No more thinking about old, scary men, ancient rings or burning kitchens.

-------------------------------------------

I don't really know what happened afterwards. And to be honest I didn't really care either.

At some point I decided I had to use the bathroom, so I turned down the music a little for I didn't want to wake my hosts when I opened the door. It was a rather tough task given the fact that I was heavily drunk by then. Somehow I managed to drag my body out of the door and to the vague direction of the bathroom when I suddenly heard a strange noise emerging from one of the rooms to my – I thought about it for a moment – left side. Shrugging slightly and suppressing a giggle I staggered to the door where I thought the sound came from. The door was halfway opened and soon I recognized it was Laura's bedroom. Why would she be up so late at night? It was well past 2.30am last time I checked and that was... very long ago.

Peering inside I had to concentrate on the scene to see clearly. She seemed to be lying on her bed, making strange noises. Shaking my head and trying to clear my mind a little I realized she was sobbing. Suddenly all the drunken happiness I felt before was gone. Though I still couldn't see or think – or walk – straight, I felt sorry for her when I noticed she was clutching a photograph to her chest. I knew this photograph only to well. It showed her ex-husband together with herself and Katrina.

So she still harbored feelings for this asshole. But there was nothing I could do to comfort her in my current condition. I smelled like whiskey and felt disgusted with myself. Silently I left her alone, forgetting about my former plans and retreated to my chamber.

I opened my window to take a look outside. It was a beautiful clear night. Though it was still a little cold the fresh air helped me to sober up. I looked up at the stars that shone brightly down on the earth.

"Why does it all have to be so screwed up?" I mumbled silently. I felt a wave of sadness come over me, stronger than usually because of the alcohol. I felt my heart clenching and tears falling down my cheek. Absentmindedly I started to rub at the golden ring that was still attached to my finger. Touching the gem softly I closed my eyes, trying to will away the despair, the exhaustion and the pain that plagued me for such a long time now.

"Why can't we just be happy? What have we done to deserve such a cruel fate?" I was crying harder with every word I spoke. "I just want me and Laura to be happy again, to live a satisfying life with people who care for us. With someone... to love."

There, I finally admitted it. My heart was about to burst with emotions, with a deep yearning for something I couldn't describe. Suddenly a picture flashed through my mind. It was a man I had never seen in reality but in my dreams every now and then – and in my office when I first saw the ring.

I looked down at it again, my vision still blurred. The crimson gem was glowing softly in the starlight. Confused I shook my head but it was still glowing. As was the engraving. I gasped in surprise as the words suddenly seemed to have the same color as the gem.

"Holy fuck", I whispered, feeling dizzy. I stumbled to my bed, looking down on the ring with morbid fascination while my head touched the pillows softly.

_What is meant to be will always find a way to be..._

A soft whisper echoed through my room, repeating the words all over. My heart started to beat faster, my eyelids felt heavy, oh, so heavy... Finally I gave in and let the darkness overcome my mind.

------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: For those who are interested I tried to write a short explanation what Kyra's colleague Chris Marshal does in his therapy. RET_(Rational Emotive Therapy)_ is a method which some therapists working in the cognitive field of psychology use to help their patients. It was developed by A. Ellis, a former psychoanalyst. His theory was that wrong cognitions a person has concerning one object makes him fear it – and not the thing itself (if someone is afraid of spiders for example, Ellis would say he doesn't really fear the insect itself but rather the connection the person's mind creates – it's disgusting and will eat you when you're asleep or with its eight legs it's scary and inhuman etc.). He aims to reveal the _irrational beliefs_ a person has which are often phrases of dogmatic content (e.g. "I_never_ got good grades at school and _everyone_ is _always_ laughing at me." / _"No one_ will _ever_ love me."). The patient has to realize what his irrational beliefs are to get over it eventually. Or something like that… .


	4. Dream Lover

A/N: Well, there's not much I could say right now

A/N: I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update this story. I have been sick for two endless weeks and now I have to learn for my final exams. I've already written two tests and well, I fear the results will not be as good as I had hoped. Especially my Psychology exam… But that's an entirely different story and I don't want to bore you with my failure. Anyway, I hope I'll have more time to write once the exams are finished.

Again I have to say thank you to Rithralinde, Gem Of The Stars and Snorwski for the comment. I really appreciated it.

--

Chapter Three

Dream Lover

--

_What is meant to be will always find a way to be..._

--

_It was a beautiful night._

_I was lying on my back and looked up to the dark sky. The stars were staring back at me, sparkling gaily and whispering words I did not understand. Sometimes I would hear a phrase that sounded vaguely familiar. They reminded me of the songs my mother used to comfort me with when I was younger._

_Much younger._

_Even the stars felt the need to talk to someone every now and then but usually they kept to themselves. Only some chosen people were allowed to listen to their conversation. Since I was not one of them the enigma would never be revealed to me. _

_But it was alright; maybe I was not important enough for them to recognize me. I sighed and closed my eyes. The grass beneath my body was cold and suddenly I realized that I had no cloak with me and only wore a thin, white gown. _

_Suddenly the wind carried a beautiful melody to me. _

_My heart started to beat faster when I recognized it. It was one of my favorite songs and harmonized with my mood perfectly. There was only one person I would allow to listen to me singing it. Though I liked to sing at banquets or similar opportunities this song was only meant for the one I loved._

_So I responded the unspoken request by singing the first few lines to the calming sounds of the flute._

"_They say that it's always darkest right before the dawn_

_They say that I must be strong just to carry on…"_

_I smiled when I heard someone approaching me. _

_It was strange that I had not sensed him coming before. But maybe I've been too lost in my own thoughts to notice. _

_The music was getting louder. I still kept my eyes closed even when I felt someone sitting down beside me. _

"_But they don't know _

_That I would wait my whole lifetime through_

_Because of you, my love_

_I'd be waiting just for you…"_

I've been waiting for you, my love…

_The music faded away and I could feel a warm hand touching my cheek. _

"_I apologize that it took me so long to find you," he answered and stroked my hair gently. _

"_I shall forgive you. For now."_

_When I opened my eyes I could see he was smiling down at me. _

"_You're too kind, meleth nîn."_

"_I guess I am."_

_He touched my lips with his forefinger and I fell silent. His eyes were looking at me with silent amusement… and longing. _

"_We have been apart for so long. I have missed you."_

_I smiled at his gentle words. _

"_You know that I missed you too. Every minute I spent without you my soul had been yearning to see you again."_

_He bent his head until his face was hovering directly above mine. His beautiful brown eyes were filled with so many emotions – if I had not already fallen for him I would surely give in to him right now. _

_I moved my head to cover the distance between our faces. Our lips almost touched; I could feel his breathe against my cold skin. I shut my eyes slowly, awaiting the kiss that would seal our reunion… _

--

A horrified scream broke the silence.

My eyes snapped open when I heard this atrocious sound – but immediately regretted this decision. A searing pain shot through my whole body and I found I wasn't able to move. Even my brain seemed to work a lot slower than usually.

Where had my lover gone?

His touch had felt so good, so real. Though I had not been able to see his features clearly I was sure that I knew him. There had been a connection between us… something I could not describe.

But I didn't have a lover for ages! And I certainly never felt like this before.

This delicate feeling of a perfect love…

Slowly my thoughts became more coherent. The pain was still there but I tried to ignore it (along with my irrational wish to go back to sleep and find out more about this mysterious man) but the bitter feeling that I just lost something very important still kept on lingering in my mind.

_It had been__ just another dream_, a small voice inside my head whispered.

I sighed heavily.

Now that I had regained consciousness, I almost had to laugh about my own imprudence.

That was when I remembered what had been the cause of my sudden awakening and I tried to open my eyes yet again. At first I couldn't see anything. The light of the sun was much too bright and my head started to protest against this intrusion. Now I knew why I was in so much pain – I drank almost a whole bottle of whiskey last night and this had to be a very nasty hangover. I wasn't used to drinking hard alcohol so it was just natural that my body reacted badly to it. At least I hoped that that was the reason for my poor condition.

After some time my eyes adjusted to the light, though the throbbing inside my head didn't disappear. It took me some time until I finally dared to take a look around.

The first thing I noticed were the tall trees that surrounded me like a huge wall. The sunlight was leaking through the luscious canopy, illuminating a thick layer of grass my body was resting on. I could feel the vibrating energy of the plants around me and a serene smile spread on my face. The pain was slowly fading away while I looked around and enjoyed the peaceful scene. Somehow I felt like I had been here before… but that couldn't be.

_All of this couldn't be._

There were no forests like this in the area where I lived. And this place felt so ethereal, so _otherworldly_. I never knew such places could exist in reality.

But apparently they did.

And I had absolutely no idea how I got here… wherever _here_ was.

To be honest I didn't remember what happened after I returned to my room. I had looked up at the sky and… yes, I think I passed out at some point. So maybe this was just another alcohol-induced hallucination.

Great.

I groaned and almost give in to the urge of just lie down again and wait until it was over. But then I remembered the scream that made me wake up in the first place. Maybe some person inside this hallucination needed my help or something. I was always worried about other people's well-being – my mother used to say I was more concerned with other people than myself and to some extend she was right.

But she was a very self-centered person who rarely thought about other people at all. Maybe that was part of the reason why we never really got a long too well.

My head started to hurt again; maybe thinking about stuff like this was not the best thing to do in my present condition. Hesitantly I tried to get up but since I didn't feel like fainting any minute I figured I could move as well. I needed to find out where I was after all.

Once I learned that my body seemed to be unscathed – except for the terrible headache – there was another problem I had not thought of. Since I had no idea where I was I didn't know in which direction I should walk. There was no sign of civilization, just trees everywhere I looked. Well… I had never been much of a pioneer and didn't even know how to use a compass. So I decided it would not matter which direction I chose and just started to walk. The landscape was pretty much the same – there were still trees everywhere and I assumed it was a very big forest I was walking through.

Suddenly I heard a strange noise coming from on one of the bushes that bordered the small trail I was walking on. My senses were abnormally sharp – otherwise I wouldn't have noticed it. I frowned but curiosity took the better of me and I approached the shrub border. The noise grew louder. It sounded strangely familiar… like someone was weeping. That was all the conviction I needed. Maybe my assumptions have not been that wrong after all.

With my improved sense of hearing it was an easy task to find the source of the noises. Behind one of the bushes I found a woman lying on the floor. She had her knees drawn up to her chest; her whole body was shaking as she cried. My heart went out for her – who knew what had happened to her before?

"Hello", I said in the most reassuring voice I could muster. There was no answer; I could see her small shoulders were trembling. So finally I gave in to the urge to comfort her. I bent down and touched her auburn hair gently. It was soft and wavy… the texture reminded me of someone but I could not say for sure.

The woman's body tensed. Now she seemed to notice that she was not alone anymore.

Slowly she turned her face in my direction. She seemed to be terrified by my sudden appearance but I could not blame her. Then she looked up at me with panic written all over her face… and I froze.

--

A/N: By the way the song in the first scene is called "Just for you" and belongs to Blackmore's Night. Yes, I am a Ritchie Blackmore fan… even though he is an old man by now he's still one of the best guitarists in the whole world! I love his music!


	5. Stranger In Us All

A/N: Welcome back, folks

A/N: Welcome back, folks. I know it's been some time (again…) and to be honest I had finished this chapter about a week ago. I even thought I had put it online back than but obviously I hadn't and I'm sorry for that. The stress is killing me. Literally. But soon my exams will be over and I'll never ever have to bother with microbiology or ecology again. Yay! .

Thank you to everyone who bothered to review this story:

Opera-Gypsy, Meluska (Laura will cry some more throughout the story, sorry. But I agree that it would be boring if everything would go well for Kyra from the very beginning. There are major conflicts waiting, don't worry. .), -SoulMama-, Rithralinde (You know what? I like you. . Believe it or not I know what you mean. SingStar can do that to people…), Tara-Yo, The Battling Bard (Why bother reading when you don't like my ideas?)

Enjoy!

--

Chapter Four

Stranger In Us All

--

"Laura?" I asked bewildered, disbelief written all over my face.

How could that be? Why was she here in this forest? And why was she looking at me with her big brown eyes like I was a stranger to her?

"Who are you?"

Her question startled me.

"Don't you recognize me?"

She shook her head and for the first time I noticed how odd my voice sounded. Softer, more melodious… it scared me. Along with the heightened perception it started to freak me out. Something had happened to my body and I was not sure what to think of it.

"I… I have never seen you before."

Laura started shaking again and tears were still running down her cheeks.

"Where am I? How did I get here? I want to go home!"

I caressed her hair gently and she leaned into the touch. Maybe she still felt that she could trust me even though I did not look familiar to her.

"It's me, Laura. I'm Kyra."

Her eyes widened.

"You can't be…"

"But it is true. I am Kyra Madison. You have been living with me for some time now after you divorced your ex-husband. You have a wonderful daughter, Katrina. And yesterday you burnt down my kitchen because you were trying to make breakfast for my birthday."

Confusion was written all over her beautiful features. She did know my name after all… so the reason she did not recognize me had something to do with my outward appearance.

"But you don't look like the Kyra I know."

Hesitantly she extended a hand towards my face. Her finger touched my left cheek gently, stroking my smooth skin. Then she paused and reached for one of my ears. My eyes widened when I felt a strange sensation coursing through my whole body. I felt my cheeks redden slightly. When have my ears become that sensitive?

Hastily I lifted my own hand and touched my earlobe. It was so weird… My earlobes were larger than usually and… pointed?

_It couldn't be…_

What happened to my ears? Where there more parts of my body that had changed all of a sudden?

"Are there any more things that were altered?" I all but choked. A small part of me was curious about it but the bigger part didn't really want to know. Anxiously I awaited her respond.

"Well…" Laura eyed me warily. I was not sure whether she believed me but I had to try my best to convince her.

"Look, I have no idea where we are or why we are here. Last night I got drunk to forget about my birthday. At some point I fainted and woke up in this forest. I've never been here before, my body feels like it does not belong to me anymore…" I paused when I felt tears threatening to fall. I couldn't remember the last time I actually cried but now I was very close.

"You have to believe me, Laura. I'm so scared. You have been my best friend for so long…"

Laura sighed and offered a tiny smile. Her eyes were still red from crying but she seemed to believe me at least.

"Your hair looks different. It's much longer than usually and blond instead of brown. Your eyes are still the same though… And – I don't know how to describe it. Your features look more delicate. Your skin is almost ghostly pale. Oh, and you're even taller than before."

Disbelievingly I reached out and took hold of one strand of my hair. I had been so confused that I had not noticed how long it was now. It almost reached my waist and it was indeed blond… and wavy.

"Creepy…" I whispered and grazed my new features nervously. My skin felt softer and my nose which had been rather large previously was smaller.

"Do I look very repulsive now?" I asked uneasily. Though I had not been exceptionally beautiful before, most of the time I had been satisfied with my appearance. Laura looked at me and smiled.

"No. You look like a goddess, Kyra."

Despite the fact that I didn't believe her I had too return her smile. Laura was one of those people who could set a dark room on fire with just one smile. And she certainly knew how to use it to her advantage. There were only few men who could resist her charming personality.

"Maybe we should start looking for some signs of civilization," I suggested and rose from the soft grass.

"Sure," Laura agreed and followed me as I started to look for the trail I had been walking on before I had heard her crying. Somehow I felt like this was the only way that would lead us into the right direction.

--

We had been walking for a long time in silence.

The sun was slowly setting on the evening sky; it was a beautiful sight and I wished we could just sit down and enjoy the view. However, I knew there were more important matters we had to be concerned about.

Like finding a place where we could stay for the night.

Even though we had been walking through this forest for quite some time, we had not found any villages. It seemed like no human being had ever entered these woods or at least no one had stayed very long.

"I'm hungry," Laura complained after we had passed yet another clearing. I sighed – she was always hungry. When it came to food she could forget everything that happened around her. Sometimes I wondered how she could manage to maintain her shape without getting too fat. I rarely felt hungry; I just ate whenever I felt the need to do so. Right now I was too worried to be hungry at all.

Suddenly I noticed something weird. We had been following the trail all the time and I realized that now our surrounding seemed vaguely familiar to me. It was not something I could explain logically, just a feeling. Like I had been here before… But of course that wasn't possible.

"I think we might reach our destination soon," I muttered when I felt something tugging at the brink of my consciousness.

"_Don't be afraid, the stars will always guide your way, meleth nîn."_

"_There is no need for me to be afraid. You are always with me and wherever you are I feel at home…"_

I groaned when I felt memories overflowing my mind. Memories that were not my own but still felt so awfully familiar…

"_We will reach Imladris soon, meleth nîn. Once you have seen it you will always be able to memorize it. It is a sight you will never fail to remember."_

An image appeared in front of my closed eyes, emphasizing the words I just heard. I saw a magnificent city that looked like it was made out of glass. It was sparkling in the late afternoon sun; I have never seen something that could compare to this beauty. It was built around a hill and there were several rivers flowing through the whole city, along with an eye-catching cascade.

"Kyra?" I heard Laura ask tentatively. I shook my head to get rid of those strange memories.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's alright…" I whispered. I knew I did not sound reassuring at all – to be honest I was convinced that _nothing_ would ever be alright again. But I could not let this insecurities trouble Laura as well.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm just tired and…"

When I turned around the words got stuck in my throat. No words could describe what I felt at the moment when I gazed at the scene that unfolded itself in front of my eyes.

At the end of a clearing, down in the valley I saw the outline of the city I had just seen in my vision. Even though it was dark now I was still sure that I couldn't be mistaken.

"Imladris…"

The word escaped my lips before I could put a stop to it. For the first time I thought my new voice didn't sound awkward – it seemed like this voice was made to talk in another language; not just plain English but something more… melodious.

"What did you just say?"

Laura's voice sounded dull, like she was trying to decide if she should keep her composure or just freak out. I had already passed that point when I first found out about my altered appearance and I really hoped she would not react hysterically (though I would not blame her if she did).

"Laura, calm down."

I turned around and took hold of her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. Her pupils were widened and she was panting like she just ran a mile.

"Look at me, Laura!"

I shook her gently and finally her eyes were focusing on me again.

"Kyra…" she whispered and again I could see tears in her eyes. Quickly I pulled her in my arms and caressed her back soothingly. Her body was trembling and I could hear dry sobs escaping her throat.

"Calm down, my dear. Everything will be alright soon…"

I knew these words sounded like a lie but somehow I knew they were true. Everything would turn out just fine in the end, one way or another. I had no idea where my sudden confidence had come from but I didn't care. My head was aching and I could feel more memories trying to break through the invisible barrier that seemed to exist around my brain.

"I'm not losing it, am I? You see the same things I do, right?"

I nodded solemnly and continued to look into her eyes.

"You are not going insane, Laura. Unless we both have the same hallucinations but I doubt this is even possible."

She wiped the tears from her cheek and smiled shakily.

"Thank you."

I withdrew my arms and returned her smile.

"I'm sure we will find refuge in this city as well as something to eat."

She didn't respond; she just took my hand and followed me when I lead us both into our new lives.

--


	6. Lady Celebrian

A/N: Hey there, I'm back again. It's been a long time, I know. For some reason I stopped writing fanfiction, though I never forgot how much fun it was. Every now and then I would get e-mails, informing me someone had written a comment for this story and I decided to continue working on it. Thanks to everyone who did so – I hope you're still interested how this story will continue.

The streets were deserted when we entered the town. Though some of the windows were still illuminated there was no one outside. I contemplated whether it would be wise to knock on one of the doors and hope that someone would offer us shelter for the night – or just tell us where the hell we were. Eventually I decided against it – I didn't even tell Laura about the idea.

I felt unbelievable tired and wide awake at the same time. My body felt drained; all I wanted to do was to fall asleep and never wake up again. I was so confused… why did this city look so familiar? All those memories and the feelings attached to it frightened me.

Finally after we left another abandoned street Laura sighed and parked herself on the sidewalk.

"I don't want to go any further. My feet hurt and this town is so strange, I'm hungry and…"

I knelt down beside her and started to stroke her hair affectionately.

"I know", I whispered. "I know, my dear but we have to go on, just for a little longer. Maybe we should retreat into the woods and come back in the morning. I'm sure that we will find someone who will help us tomorrow."

Laura nodded; she was probably too exhausted to object. "So we won't be having any dinner tonight?" she asked dolefully.

I shook my head and smiled. "I think we have to take care of that tomorrow either."

Gradually I got up from the floor, extending a hand for my friend… when I heard the sound of footsteps at the end of the street. They were approaching us silently; if my senses had not been that sharp I wouldn't have noticed it. My body stiffened and I turned around to face whoever was advancing us. Almost immediately I could make out the shape of two people heading in our direction.

"Kyra?"

I looked down at my best friend who stared back at me, obviously confused about my behavior.

"Someone's coming" I responded. She frowned and followed my gaze when I turned around again. The people were coming closer – they would reach us in less then ten seconds. My first impulse was to run for it but they were much too close now – we could never escape them even if we tried.

"Who is there?" a harsh yet still unusually harmonious sounding voice demanded. I could feel Laura's body tensing at these words but for some reason I was not afraid.

"We are travelers and hoped to find shelter in your village for the night."

That was true, though for some reason I thought it was better not to reveal our names. Except for my intuition there was no evidence that they were not dangerous.

The two males stepped closer. They were very tall, but my altered body was not much shorter. The first thing I noticed were the pointed ears. Laura told me I had pointed ears and now I could vaguely imagine what I looked like.

"I asked for your names, stranger. What business do you have in Imladris?"

This time the second male spoke. His voice sounded vaguely familiar but since I was not able to see his features clearly I could not be sure whether I knew him or not. Yeah, right. It was impossible – I had never met a person with pointed ears before. However, there were so many odd things happening maybe we had really met before.

"I already told you that we are only passing through. We have no business in Imladris. In fact we were just about to retreat into the forest."

Suddenly the second male took another step forward. He was starring at me suspiciously; I could see his right hand clenching the handle of his sword fiercely. I returned his inquiring gaze sternly. For now I didn't care if my behavior would get us into trouble; I was so tired and I could feel my confusion slowly turning into annoyance.

Then all of a sudden I saw uncertainty in his intense gaze. He blinked a few times but obviously that did not help to diminish his bewilderment.

"That… cannot be" he whispered. Slowly he extended a hand towards my face but stopped before he could reach me. He still did not turn his gaze away, only when he noticed the frown on my face he gasped and – to my astonishment – bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry for not recognizing you at first, my lady. We thought that we would never see you again until our time had come to sail to the West."

I just stared at him in confusion. Was he insane? Then he hissed some words to his companion and his eyes bulged before he bowed hastily.

"It is an honor to finally be able to meet you in person," he said.

Suddenly I felt Laura tugging at the sleeve of my sweatshirt. I turned away from the two bowing males, thankful for the distraction.

"What's the matter?" I asked, forcing a smile on my face. Even though the situation was bizarre I still felt the need to comfort her.

"Did you understand what they were saying?"  
I looked at her, puzzled by the question. "Of course I did."

She eyed me warily. "I didn't."

Great. Another thing to add to the long list of unsolved mysteries.

"I have no clue why you cannot understand them. But they seem to know me… or at least someone who looks like me. Maybe they could show us a place where we could spend the night."

Laura nodded slowly and I spun around to face the two males again.

"Do you know a place where we could find refuge for the night?" I said, noticing the strange tune my voice suddenly had. It was like I was unconsciously using another language to communicate with them.

"Of course. We shall lead you to the palace."

After saying this he bowed again and started to walk away. Quickly I grabbed Laura's hand and hauled her body up from the floor.

"Where are we going?" she asked fearfully.

"To the palace. The ward will show us a place to stay for the night." I squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Don't be afraid. They won't harm us."

Laura sighed and clung to my hand like it was the only thing that kept her from losing it. She had never been good at handling difficult situations. But for now I could do nothing to ease her discomfort so I just kept on following our leaders. Maybe we would find someone in the palace who could answer our questions.

The palace was the most beautiful building I had ever seen. I didn't know much about architecture but I had been traveling around the world for some time when I was younger and I couldn't remember anything that could be compared to this magnificent edifice.

There were several cascades in the vast gardens the guard lead us through and I hoped I would be able to have a closer look at them in the morning. I could hear the sound of rippling water everywhere; it reminded me of something… of somewhere…

A picture appeared in my mind and even though I tried to ignore it I knew it was futile. I saw two people sitting on a bench in just the same garden we were walking through. They were just sitting there, holding hands and looking at the scenery smiling serenely. However, before I could make out their features the picture vanished.

I blinked a few times, trying hard not to think about it any longer. There were more important matters I had to take care of.

After some time we left the gardens and our leader stopped in front of a huge silver gate. When I looked up I noticed that we were standing right in front of the palace. The gates slid open almost immediately without making any sound. Then the two guards bowed again and the one that had recognized me earlier smiled.

"Welcome back to Imladris, Lady Celebrian."

I looked at him, startled at his words.

_Lady Celebrian?_

Why would he call me that? Was this the name of the woman whose body I now possessed? The name sounded distantly familiar… but again I couldn't figure out why. Suddenly my headache became even more severe and I could barely suppress a groan. My breathing became faster, irregular and I felt like I would faint any minute.

_Lady Celebrian._

I was positive that I had never heard this name before. But still… it sounded _right_ for him to call me Celebrian. I closed my eyes for a second and forced my breathing to calm down. My name was Kyra Madison, I was a psychologist and by some mysterious twist of fate me and my best friend had been brought to this strange place. Just as I wanted to tell him just that he spoke up again.

"I will tell Lord Elrond of your arrival. Valyarin will take you to your chambers immediately."

He smiled again.

"It is a miracle how you could manage to come back again. But everyone will be overjoyed to hear the news."

Then he turned around and left us alone with the other guard.

"Please follow me," he said after a while. Since there was nothing else we could do right now we obeyed his command and followed him.

He led us through so many different corridors and stairs that I soon gave up on trying to memorize the way. I was so tired and confused… all I wanted to do was to sleep and never wake up again.

Finally the guard stopped in front of a huge oak door. He bowed and opened the door for us.

"If there is anything we can do for you, don't hesitate to ask. Everyone will be more than willing to see to your wishes, Lady Celebrian. Sleep well."

With that he left us alone. I looked at Laura who was standing beside me, observing the interior of the large room with awe. Her eyes were widened and her mouth was opened slightly. She seemed to be even more shocked than I was.

"This is madness," she whispered. I just nodded dazedly. The room was beautiful; it was very huge with white and golden tapestry. There were two large windows on each side of the room; I could even make out a balcony behind one of them. The furnishing was made out of dark wood – there were large closets on the wall, a king-sized bed with so many golden pillows that I was afraid they would suffocate me while I was asleep.

Hesitantly I entered the room. Laura never left my side – she clutched my left hand so hard I feared she would break several bones.

"Does this room really belong to you?" she asked timidly.

"I don't think so…" I replied cautiously but for some reason these words sounded like a lie. I have never been here before – this room couldn't possibly belong to me. Still it reminded me of something like most of the things I had encountered today.

Finally I decided it was best to get some sleep before I would start questioning everything that had happened today. Maybe after resting I would be able to figure out why we were here… or why I felt like I had been here before.

"I think we need to rest for a while" I suggested. She just heaved a sigh and let go of my hand to sit down on the edge of the bed.

"That's a good idea. Do you think there are any pajamas hidden in these closets?" she asked curiously. I shrugged and turned around to open one of the doors undecidedly. This room belonged to Lady Celebrian after all and even though the guard had called me by that name I was not her. But then again, it didn't matter right now.

There were several gowns hanging in the closet. All of them were white and golden, just like everything else in the room. I shuddered – this Lady Celebrian was weird. I had never liked to wear white very much, most likely because it intimidated my clients when I wore this color. After some time I picked out two of them that didn't look like they had cost a fortune. They were plain but rather long. I suspected that they were much to long for Laura's slender built but I highly doubted she would object.

"Here, take this one" I called and threw one of the garments at her. She didn't respond as she started to undress. I did the same and soon we were both wearing almost identically looking robes. She smiled when she looked at me.

"Now you truly look like a goddess, Kyra."

I blushed at her comment and laughed uneasily.

"But I certainly don't feel like one. I feel… well, weird."

Laura grinned and winked at me. Then she sat down on the bed again and looked at me expectantly.

"You don't mind sharing the bed, do you?"

I shook my head. To be honest I would feel much better when she was sleeping beside me. It was comfortable that there was at least one person left that was not completely insane. We lay down beneath the comfortable covers and Laura moved her body until she was pressed against my chest. I embraced her and stroked her back soothingly.

"Thank you, Kyra," she whispered before she fell asleep in my arms. I stroked her back for a little longer, then I felt the darkness overcome my mind as well and I drifted off to sleep.


End file.
